| Picture: Image Bank |
Not so long ago, a US break might have been seen as a once
in a lifetime holiday. Not so in the 21st century.
Spurred on by the ease of packaging their own short-haul breaks,
today’s consumers realise how accessible the country has
become, and are increasingly willing to pick and choose the
separate elements of their US holiday.
The US has always been a strong tailor-made market but these days
there’s more product on offer than ever: theme park passes,
tickets to Broadway shows; helicopter flight-seeing tours, hotel
vouchers and more.
Thanks to the weak dollar, hotel room upgrades and aspirational
product such as limo transfers are now a reality for an increasing
number of travellers. It’s all prebookable, so for an
enterprising agent it’s a green light to earning more
commission.
Jetlife is among those operators boosting tailor-made options. It
promises a radically different brochure for 2006, due out next
month. Group long-haul managing director Chris May said: “If
Jetlife remained a traditional package holiday tour operator, we
wouldn’t be around in a few years.
“The only market that has remained static in the US is
escorted touring – coach tourers know exactly what they want
and operators supply accordingly. But for the rest of us,
there’s no going back.”
Trade-only specialist Travel 4 has long depended on the tailor-made
model. Product manager Julian Lawman stressed how simple it is to
tailor breaks to the US.
“The only limit is the customer’s – or the
agent’s – imagination,” he said.
Lawman said California and the west is one of the richest areas for
independent touring, thanks to the variety of product and the
relatively short distances between key sights.
Thomson North America product manager Matt Cameron agreed that the
classic western flydrive offers a wealth of commissionable extras,
such as weddings and helicopter tours from Las Vegas, theme park
tickets in Los Angeles and city tours in San Francisco.
Cameron also tipped the Liberty Hotel pass for those travellers who
want a truly independent self-drive. The vouchers can be purchased
in advance and can be exchanged at more than 500 hotels for
accommodation for up to four people – participating chains
include Howard Johnson, Days Inn and Travelodge.
Specialist holidays – be it a musical tour of the Deep South
or a multi-activity break – also have plenty of add-on
potential, but don’t assume tailor-making stops when it comes
to the standard two-week family holiday to Florida. Besides the
obvious theme park passes, two-centres are a good bet for a family
with lots of members to keep happy.
According to Funway product manager Steven Silver, Florida’s
Gulf Coast is a popular add-on to Orlando for families, but those
with older kids might want to consider a city break to New York.
Sadly, the Nike store isn’t commissionable but there are
shopping packages that should keep the whole family happy.
From the Big Apple, Virgin features an excursion to Woodbury Common
Premium Outlets, the flagship site of discount retailer Chelsea
Premium Outlets, costing £21 for adults and £13 for
children. With 220 designer stores offering discounts of up to 65%,
it won’t just be the holiday that’s tailor-made.
